The latest dramatic turn following the Taliban's release of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl to U.S. authorities last month is the revelation that he is now reportedly refusing to speak with his parents.

Bergdahl's refusal to make contact with his parents, revealed in a report from the Wall Street Journal, citing a U.S. official familiar his recovery, has increased the already intense and polarizing focus on his release, which was secured in a deal that freed five Taliban prisoners from U.S. custody at a Guantánamo Bay, Cuba facility.

The decision on Bowe's part has taken some observers by surprise, particularly because Bergdahl's parents have been at the forefront of the public calls to the U.S. government to work to secure his release from captivity.

Following Bergdahl's release on May 31, his father, Robert Bergdahl, and mother, Jani Bergdahl, appeared alongside President Obama at the White House to express their thanks for his release. During the appearance, Robert Bergdahl said that Bowe was having trouble speaking English, after which he spoke to his son in Pashto, one of the languages of Afghanistan.

Bergdahl is currently receiving treatment at a U.S. military hospital in Germany, where doctors are reportedly giving him to as much time as possible to recover from his five-year ordeal before allowing him to travel. According to a New York Timesreport, the caution being observed by his doctors is meant to aid his mental recovery (physically, he has been cleared for travel).

Further complicating the situation between Bergdahl and his parents are reports that Robert Bergdahl has received emailed death threats. Based in Hailey, Idaho, Robert Bergdahl reportedly received four death threats, beginning on June 4, all of which were forwarded to the FBI for investigation.

On the same day as the first emailed threat, a June 28 homecoming rally for Bergdahl was abruptly cancelled, as questions regarding his possible status as a military deserter swirled in the media.

Much of the recent talk of Bergdahl's possible status as a deserter stems from a 35-page report, backed up by his former military team leader, former Army Sgt. Evan Buetow, that claims that Bergdahl deliberately left his post in Afghanistan. "Bergdahl is a deserter, and he's not a hero," Buetow told CNN.

Other former platoon mates of Bergdahl's have also stepped into the debate, offering varying takes on his alleged desertion.

The addition of voices from the military questioning Bergdahl's status prior to being captured has only served to ratchet up the overall critique being directed at the White House following its decision break with its long-held policy of refusing to negotiate with terrorist organizations like the Taliban.

And while most of the initial criticism of Obama's move to make the prisoner swap deal came from Republicans highlighting the president's decision to forego giving Congress the required 30 days notice of a prisoner release, some Democrats have also begun to voice concerns about the episode. Last week, high-ranking congressman Dutch Ruppersberger told the Baltimore Sun that the episode was a "dangerous precedent" that "puts all Americans at risk throughout the world."

Nevertheless, during a recent press conference, when asked if he thought he had violated the law with regards to the execution of the prisoner swap, Obama said:

We have consulted with Congress for quite some time about the possibility that we might need to execute a prisoner exchange in order to recover Sergeant Bergdahl. We saw an opportunity. We were concerned about Sergeatn Bergdahl’s health. We had the cooperation of the Qataris to execute an exchange, and we seized that opportunity. And the process was truncated because we wanted to make sure that we did not miss that window.

Secretary of State John Kerry also defended the action in comments made on CNN on Sunday, "It would have been offensive and incomprehensible to consciously leave an American behind, no matter what, to leave an American behind in the hands of people who would torture him, cut off his head, do any number of things."

As for Bergdahl's immediate future, military officials have confirmed that he will be flown to San Antonio Military Medical Center in Texas when doctors have completed his treatment. However, in light of his recent refusal to make contact with his parents, it remains unclear as to whether or not that return will also mean reuniting with his family.

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